Research shows most young Australians aren’t using condoms

Wrap it up.

Turns out, young Australians aren’t using condoms as much as they should be.

A study conducted by the University of New South Wales found that 75 per cent of sexually active people aged 15-29 had sex without using a condom at least once in the last 12 months.

In 69 per cent of those cases, the person was having sex with a regular partner, while 24 per cent were having sex with casual partners.

The study was conducted due to an increase in STI diagnoses in the age bracket, and looked into respondents’ knowledge of STIs and tendency to get tested.

Despite most participants being aware of this rise in STIs, only 58 per cent had ever done a sexual health test.

UNSW found that women were more likely to get tested than men, and tended to get tested more frequently. LGBTQI+ participants also reported having more frequent tests than heterosexual participants.

The report concluded that not using condoms during sex was not caused by a lack of knowledge about STI prevention, but had more to do with social norms and expectations.

To read the full study, head here.

unsw.edu.au